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WORLD TOUR - 1983/84
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Absolutely essential:
" BODY WISHES"
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(click above to read the poem)
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"I
have decided that instead of having my unflawless history
spread eagled once again before you (it has after all been
spoken of in great depth by the English papers for the past
eight years) I will tickle your unflappables with a poem and
drawing from the forthcoming edition (if we can find a mentally
retarded publisher) called 'A Variety Of Annoyances' by Rod
Stewart and Ron Wood (of the well known pop-group)."
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The set
contains:
- Tonight
I'm Yours
- Sweet
Little Rock'n'Roller
- Dancin'
Alone
- Tonight's
The Night
- Passion
- She
Won't Dance With Me/Little Queenie
- Sweet
Surrender
- I Don't
Want To Talk About It
- You're
In My Heart
- Baby
Jane
- Young
Turks
- What
Am I Gonna Do (I'm So In Love With You)
- Da'
Ya' Think I'm Sexy?
- Hot
Legs
- Gasoline
Alley
- Maggie
May
- You
Wear It Well
- I Was
Only Joking
- Sailing
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Tourbook 1983
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May
1983
25 Luxembourg, Luxemburg
28 Schüttorf-Münster, Germany
31 Bruxelles, Belgium
June
1983
03 Köbenhavn, Denmark
04 Stockholm, Sweden
07 Hamburg, Germany
08 Berlin, Germany
10 Rotterdam, Netherlands
12 Versailles, France
13 Paris, France
15 Nantes, France
16 Lille, France
18 Glasgow, Scotland
19 Dublin, Ireland
21 Birmingham, UK
22 Birmingham, UK
23 Birmingham, UK
25 London, Earl's Court, UK
26 London, Earl's Court, UK
27 London, Earl's Court, UK
29 Mannheim, Germany
30 München, Germany
August
1983
04 Sun City, South Africa
05 Sun City, South Africa
06 Sun City, South Africa
07 Sun City, South Africa
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July
1983
02 Verona, Italy
03 Firenze, Italy
04 Misano Adriatico, Italy
05 Genova, Italy
15 San Sebastian, Spain
17 Madrid, Spain
19 Lisboa, Portugal
21 Tel Aviv, Israel
23 Tel Aviv, Israel
28 Sun City, South Africa
29 Sun City, South Africa
30 Sun City, South Africa
31 Sun City, South Africa
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MMMMMM
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Tony
BROCK - drums
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From the town of Poole-Dorset on England's southern coast,
drummer Tony Brock hit the local big time with two albums
as a member of the group, Spontaneous Combustion. In 1974
Tony found himself with an unexpected introduction to Rod
Stewart when the group Strider, with Gary Grainger, opened
for the Faces on their final British tour.
Less then
two years later, Grainger joined the Rod Stewart Group, which
was in it's early formation, and Tony joined the Babys. Instead
of touting the traditional demo tape, The Babys put themselves
on video, an innovative initiative that got them a recording
deal.
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As
excitement surrounding the release of their first album began
to build in the United States, The Babys made a ten-day promotional
trip to America, and this trip turned into a permanent stay.
The group made several more successful albums and had two top
ten singles, "Isn't It Time" and "Every Time I Think Of You"
before splitting up in 1980.
Tony's reintroduction to Rod Stewart came in 1982 when Rod liked
what he heard on the demo for "Tonight I'm Yours", on which
Tony played drums. Rod opted for Tony's style and this characteristic,
driving beat has become the staple of the band's sound. Although
committed to his current work with Rod Stewart, he has also
found key time for some outside projects, as exhibited by Eddie
Money's current No Control LP which further showcases
Tony Brock's expertise.
M |
Seven
years with the Rod Stewart Group, guitarist Jim Cregan is a
founding member of the band and throughout this period, his
contributions have been impressive.
A master of both acoustic and electric guitar, Cregan co-produced
Tonight I'm Yours and also has production credits on Stewart's
current release, Body Wishes.
With songwriting partner, Kevin Savigar, Jim has co-written
many of the irresistible melodies heard on recent Stewart albums.
Prior to his association with Rod Stewart, Jim's trademark guitar
could be heard on Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel's 1975 hit
"Make Me Smile". |
Jim
CREGAN - guitars
(the Somerset Segovia)
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Before
Cockney Rebel was born, Jim added his inventive guitar work
to a succession of acts in his native England, eventually playing
with the group, Family, when they opened for Elton John and
a tour of America. The stint was followed by a world tour with
Cat Stevens and Linda Lewis. It was when Cockney Rebel came
to the U.S., armed with their number one hit, that Jim Cregan
caught the attention of Rod Stewart. Stewart saw the band perform
at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles and shortly thereafter recruited
Jim to join Stewart's band in 1976. There are more reasons for
records reaching number one than just the singer and the song.
Occasionally, a few inspired instrumental moments in the middle
will transform an entire performance, turning a good song into
a solid hit. Jim Cregan's stunning guitar style continues to
prove this point.
M |
Jimmy
ZAVALA - sax/harmonica
(...and takes his trousers off in public)
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While
still in his mid-teens, saxophonist Jim Zavala could be found
frequenting the local nightspots of his hometown of Sacramento,
California, sporting dark glasses and a wordly attitude to disguise
his age.
It was during this time that Jim was introduced to the sounds
of the ever-fascinating mouth harp and harmonica legends such
as Little Walter and Taj Mahal. Zavala went on to master the
harmonica and ironically, become a favourite in many of those
same clubs throughout northern California.
Yet it was when Jim took up the saxophone during a three-year
period with various blues band that he entered the world of
rock'n'roll. Influenced by the music of such greats as Junior
Walker and King Curtis, Zavala began making a name for himself
during a six-year stint of non-stop touring.
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With
his own band, he toured from San Francisco to Reno, Tahoe, Seattle
and Vancouver, among other major cities.
Zavala left the roadwork behind when he decided to move to Los
Angeles, and when the bandmembers wouldn't follow, Jim set out
on his own. Less than a year later, in 1981, while jamming at
a blues session at the popular Central Club on Sunset Strip,
Jim made a lasting impression on two people in his audience
- Rod Stewart bandmembers, Robin Le Mesurier and Jim Cregan.
Le Mesurier and Cregan suggested Zavala to Rod Stewart when
a call went out for a horn player. Rod was impressed with Jim's
proficiency on harmonica and flute as well as saxophone, so
he was instantly named as one of the boys in the band. In addition
to his work with Stewart's group, recently teamed with Kevin
Savigar on a session for John Cougar's latest release. He has
also worked with Les Dudek, ex-Knack guitarist, Douf Fieger,
The Rockets and Ron Wood. Jim Zavala's blues-oriented style
continues to gain him recognition as an outstanding musician
who has gone far through his strong belief in the roots of rock'n'roll.
M |
Keyboard
player Kevin Savigar joined the Rod Stewart Group in the summer
of 1978, two years after the band's formation. He had only been
out of London's Trinity College (where he majored in classical
piano) for two years and his practical playing experience had
been confined to pit bands in West End theatres, sessions for
TV jingles and short stays with club bands.
Consequently, his indoctrination into rock music with the Stewart
Group was a challenging experience.
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Kevin
SAVIGAR - keyboards
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However,
Kevin soon established his worth and went on to become an integral
part of the group by helping to create a more dominant role
for keyboards within the band. (This trend continues, as further
evidenced by the recent '83 additon of second keyboard player,
John Corey).
After three years as the band's new boy, Kevin acquired instant
seniority in 1981 when Jay Davis, Jimmy Zavala, Wally Stocker
and Tony Brock joined the ranks. Kevin's writing partnership
with Jim Cregan poduced instant hits on Tonight I'm Yours and
the Cregan/Savigar team is going strong with a succession of
co-written compositions on Stewart's current album, Body Wishes.
Recently, Kevin has found time to pursue projects outside the
Rod Stewart Group. His work can be heard not only with Kenny
Loggins, but also on rocker John Cougar's latest LP. Without
a doubt, Kevin Savigar is no longer the "new kid from school".
M |
Robin
LE MESURIER - guitars
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The
son of two of Britain's best-loved comedy actors, John Le Mesurier
and the late Hattie Jacques, Robin Le Mesurier took up guitar
while in school, and at the tender age of sixteen, turned professional.
His involvement with numerous groups and studio sessions led
to an extraordinary spell with The Wombles, a group of oversized
soft toys that started out as characters in a series of children's
stories and resulted in a string of hit singles. Suffocating
in fake fur, Robin reached the top ten three times before being
ousted from the group for "unwomblish" activities. Robin joined
the survivors of the group Strider, to form Limey, but this
band was short-lived, resulting in Robin's next stint as guitar
tuner for the Rod Stewart Group, touring Europe and Australia
during late '76 and early '77.
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After
reuniting with a newly-formed Strider band, Robin left the group
once more to join another Rod Stewart tour - this time playing
with Air Supply when they opened for Stewart in America in 1977.
Robin returned to England briefly to record an album with his
father, but was back in the U.S. in '78 as a member of Lion.
He then joined the highly-touted L.A. Band, The Difference,
which helped pave the way for his present relationship with
Rod Stewart. Having contributed recently to projects with Randy
Van Warmer and on Ron Wood's solo effort, 1-2-3-4, Robin's non-stop
ambition has led to his own "tongue-in-cheek heavy metal" single
and Arrested, an album of orchestrated Police songs,
both featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition,
the latest Stewart album, Body Wishes, features tunes
co-written by Robin with Rod Stewart, Jim Cregan and Kevin Savigar.
M |
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Bass player
Jay Davis views his recruitment to Rod Stewart's group as
largely a matter of luck - being in the right place at the
right time. The right place was the recording studio where
Carmine Appice was recording his solo album; the right time
was 1981 when Rod needed a bass player to perform with him
on the American Music Awards. Carmine Appice recommended his
sideman; Rod listened and liked what he heard, "and the
next thing I knew I was on TV with him", Davis recalls.
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Jay
DAVIS - bass
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Jay
hasn't always been that lucky. In 1976, for instance, he rehearsed
and recorded with with Mick Jones and Ian MacDonald and left
just before Foreigner was signed.
He later recorded with Mick Ronson and the album was never released.
When Jay put together Axis, a group with Appice's younger brother,
Vinnie and long-time partner, Danny Johnson, they did record
an album, but the trio soon disbanded. Jay's association with
the band Silver Condor proved more succesfull with their single
"You Could Take My Heart Away Tonight" reaching the Top 20 on
the national charts. Davis' career began in Louisiana where
he was performing locally by the age of eleven. He hit the road
at seventeen, playing countless bars and with numerous bands
throughout the south and midwest, eventually ending up in New
York in 1976. At this time, much of the music he was performing
was his own, "just real rock'n'roll", he says - complimented
with songs from the Rod Stewart songbook. In 1978, Jay moved
to Los Angeles and in February of 1981, following his work on
Carmine Appice's solo album, Jay permanently joined the Rod
Stewart Group. |
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